Post on 07-Jan-2017
The Worst Advice Marketing Ever Gave to Content
Rand Fishkin, Founder, Moz | @randfish
What MakesContent Successful?
It Accomplishes itsCreator’s Goal(s)
@randfish
Simple.
But… There areTwo Kinds of Goals:
@randfish
Not-So-Smart Goals
@randfish
Go Viral!
@randfish
Lots of shares and views… But what does that
accomplish?
Grow Our Traffic!
@randfish
Unless you’re a media property or social network, traffic probably isn’t your true goal.
Boost Sales!
@randfish
Many businesses invest in content because they’ve read headlines like this, and think
there’s a 1:1 relationship
See! A magnet! It gets customers! I want a magnet!
Smart Goals
@randfish
Match the Org’s Most Important Priorities
Grow top-of-funnel for product X by 25% this year
Help us win more head-to-head deals vs. competitor Y
Earn 10% more leads for our sales team via our free tools
Top 3 Priorities:ID & create content that
helps audience in our field
Create comparison pages & rank for us vs. Y terms
ID searches our tools answer & create content to rank
Content Tactics
Show the Connection Between Goals & Metrics
@randfish
Grow top-of-funnel for product X by 25% this year
Twitter follower growth is correlated at 0.7 with growth in traffic from our tweets
Twitter growth rate (& 2017 target): 14% (20%)Twitter followers (& 2017 target): 12.5K (22K)
Twitter monthly visits (& 2017 target): 4.5K (10K)
Accommodate for Content’s Indirect & Slow ROI
@randfish
Me make content. Humans click. Them buy. Me
get money.
@randfish
CaveRand know. That not how content work.
How Content Really Works:
Me Make Content.
Humans click.If them like, them
remember.
Maybe see more my content. Visit
again.
Me build trust, relationship.
When them need me, them
come back.
Let’s Fact Check Some Oft-Given, Content Marketing Advice
We’ll Use Politifact’s Scale:
Via Politifact.com
e.g.
Via Politifact.com
Common Themes in Content Marketing Advice8
Content Brings DirectLeads & Sales
@randfish
@randfish
Content is An Indirect Acquisition Channel
Via Jauntaroo
Jauntaroo’s tool serves as leadgen for Expedia, but only a small percent of searches ever
lead to conversion on a first visit.
Content is An Indirect Acquisition Channel
Via Moz
At Moz, we observe folks visiting our site ~8X on average, before they take a free trial of our
software.
Converting Directly Often Brings Lower LTV Customers
@randfish
Folks whose 1st Moz experience is clicking this & signing up stick with their
subscription for less time, on avg, than those who visit lots of Moz’s content before
signing up.
Conversion is Much Less Likely on a 1st Visit
Via Larry Kim
Interruption Tactics & Dark Patterns Can Work…
Via Copyhackers
Via Copyhackers
e.g. This overlay yielded many more email signups
Growth Hacks Are The Future of Marketing
@randfish
@randfish
Roundup Posts?
The Infographic Craze?
@randfish
Ubiquitous Guest Posting?
Auto-Follow Software?
Aggressive Email Pestering
Hacks Tends to Follow theLaw of $h*#&y Clickthrough Rates:
Via Andrew Chen
But, Hacks Can Be Useful When Applied to a Functional Content Flywheel
Publish
Amplify
Grow network Rank for slightly more competitive terms & phrases
Get links Grow authority
Earn search traffic
If you know that amplification is where your flywheel is dying, hacks to reach a larger group may
indeed be powerful!
(e.g. Rand’s Facebook Hack)
I first published this on my personal blog, but the post went
nowhere on Facebook, so I deleted the original FB post and put up this one to my Medium
version (which links to the original), and got ~5X the reach.
Facebook is Everything
@randfish
@randfish
You’ve Probably Seen Headlines Like This:
Via AdWeek
But, Facebook is <5% of Web Traffic Referrals
Via SimilarWeb
Yes, In Some Sectors, Facebook is Huge
e.g. the “Humor” category is, not surprisingly, dominated by social referrals (data via SimilarWeb Pro)
Facebook Wants to Keep You There;Not Send You Somewhere Else
Via MarketingLand
Overinvest in Facebook at Your Peril
Via FinancialBrand
Today, both these numbers are ~1/5th of what they were
in 2013 when “reachpocalypse” hit.
Amplification StartsAfter You Hit Publish
@randfish
@randfish
Lots of Amplification Work Does Happen After Publication
Via Moz’s
WB Friday
But, If You Haven’t Set Up Your Content for Amplification Success…
@randfish
The Probability that“It’ll Just Spread Naturally”
is Very Low.
Before You Produce Content, You Need a Great Answer to the Question:
@randfish
Who Will Help Amplify This and Why?
A Crappy Answer:“Movie people will like this. I know movie people. I have the best movie people.”
- a soon-to-be-sad marketer
A Great Answer:
Via Followerwonk
It’s only *great* if you’ve actually built these relationships
and have buy-in from these folks.
Paid Channels Are HowYou Boost Content’s Reach
@randfish
@randfish
Paid Can Certainly Boost Reach…
Via Buffer
$5/click is a little pricey, IMO…
But, 90%+ of All Social Clicks Go to Organic
Via Nanigans Q1 2016 Facebook Report
On Google, It’s ~80% of Clicks to Organic
~20% of all clicks
~80% of all clicks
Ironically, Paid Works Best on Content that Amplifies Well Organically
Via Larry Kim
Twitter is a great, free, low-risk
testing platform for sharing.
Be Wary of Overinvesting in Short-Term Paid, When That $$ Could Go to Long-Term Organic
If I spend $1.07 X 3,000 clicks/month for 6 months… that’s $19,260.
Or I could invest $10,000 in a content effort that might get me 10X the traffic for years to come.
Use Keywords AndYou’ll Rank in Google
@randfish
@randfish
Keywords Still Matter for SEO
(& Other Forms of Discoverability, Too)
But Keywords Are Only the Beginning
Via Backlinko
Google is much smarter at understanding topics and, most SEOs already
do KW optimization, making it a less powerful
way to stand out
The Modern SEO Pyramid
Crawl Accessibility, so engines can reach & index your content
Compelling content that solves the searchers’ query
Keyword Optimized to attract searchers & engines
Content that naturally earns links & citations
Title, URL, & description that earns high CTR
Amplification via social/word-of-mouth
Schema & markup that stands out in SERPs
Smart KW Research is a Must:
Via AdWords
Sadly, AdWords data is not “smart.”
These numbers are wrong (in reality, they
represent a range)
The “competition” & bids only speak to
PPC, not SEO
Better Metrics Can Help Prioritize:
Via KWE
Accurate volume ranges
Difficulty of ranking in organic
Relative CTR
Value to my site
Once You Do KW Research…
Via WB Friday
2) Uncover related terms, phrases, & topics
3) Craft a title, subtitle, & meta description that will stand out in the SERP and have strong relevance to the query
4) Use a format that will serve visitors on every device fast
5) Provide unique value that no one else in the SERP delivers
1) Investigate what answers & content searchers need so you can effectively serve their needs
Follow This 5-Step Process
Correlation is a Recommendation
@randfish
@randfish
The Ideal Length of Content?
Via Medium
The Types of Content that Works Best?
Via OKDork
Treat Correlation as Paths for Inquiry & Experimentation; Not Rules to Follow
Via Bloomberg’s What’s Warming the Planet?
Make Great ContentAnd They Will Come
@randfish
@randfish
Need a Great Resume Template?
@randfish
Sadly, none of these are going
to help job seekers stand
out
Try ResumUP
Via ResumUP
They’ve got data to back up the
performance of their templates
Sadly, they don’t rank well, &
haven’t gotten the shares they
deserve.
The *Best* Grilled Steak?
Via
(actually, this doesn’t deserve a link)
If you want some crappy, over-
seasoned, poorly cooked meat, listen to Bobby. It’s “easy.”
Via
SeriousEats
If you want the best steak of your life, read Serious Eats
instead.
Quality Alone Cannot Overcome a Competitive Landscape
Nor Reach a Hard-to-Attract Audience
@randfish
Just Don’t Expect “Greatness” to Compensate for Marketing
@randfish
The correlation between quality and ubiquity is not always high…
Our Job is Not to“Make Great Content”
@randfish
Our Job is to Make Content that Accomplishes Our Organization’s Goals.
A Lot of Content Marketing Advice…
Is self-serving
Suffers from survivorship bias
Applies in some fields, but not others
Works for only some flywheels
Only helps if you’re an early adopter
None of these Caveats Mean the Advice Isn’t Useful…
@randfish
It Just Means We Need to Apply It in Context
@randfish
Don’t Ignore the Experiences of Others…
@randfish
Build a Model for Evaluation & Experimentation
@randfish
Slides Online: bit.ly/worstcontentadviceFollow Rand: Twitter.com/randfishRand’s Blog: Moz.com/rand
Thank You!